A giant has fallen
A giant has fallen
And why he won't be easily replaced
It hasn’t been that long since my last post, but the earth has shifted in that time.
The world has truly moved. The lines have been re-drawn.
Tucker Carlson has parted ways with Fox News and it’s absolutely bigger news than President Biden officially announcing he’s running for re-election. Or even Fox News settling with Dominion for $787 million. Or even Special Forces evacuating US embassy staff from Sudan, in very dangerous conditions.
It will take months, if not years, to see the true effect of how large this news is, but make no mistake: it is titanic in scale.
Over the past 14 years, as our political discourse descended into vomit-inducing depths, Carlson emerged as Fox News’s top-rated, franchise personality. (He began his Fox News career after replacing Bill O’Reilly.) And in many cases, Carlson led the dissension and fostered the righteous — and often mis-informed — anger.
In my opinion, he was far worse than O’Reilly.
FAR, far worse.
Carlson bashed the military, divided this country, and wrecked lives. He even pushed Russian propaganda.
I’ll give evidence of each of these facts, as well as show why I disagree with the majority of pundits who say he’ll be easily replaced (It Doesn't Matter Who Replaces Tucker Carlson).
Tucker bashed the military.
The Pentagon’s leaders are happy to see Tucker gone, calling it a “good riddance.”
From the story:
Carlson drew the ire of top DoD officials early in the Biden administration for personal attacks on a number of military leaders, as well as ridiculing the armed forces’ efforts to increase diversity. A slew of conservative leaders quickly followed Carlson’s lead, giving rise to a small but vocal minority that to this day continues to hammer DoD officials, saying they’re focusing personnel policies at the expense of preparing for war. The Pentagon says only a small percentage of troops’ time is spent on diversity training.
Most memorably, Carlson’s remarks disparaging female service members in March 2021 prompted a rare rebuke from then-Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby.
Tucker’s attacks ignored the fact that the military has historically had a serious issue with sexual harassment, sexual assault, and suicides. And this latter category of suicides is in addition to those veterans who take their lives as a result of war — see link for safe, supportive environments.
The military needs to become more tolerant and accepting. That’s a fact. I know all of this because I was there. I know how it was. I’m confident of how it still is.
Tucker divided this country.
I really don’t even need to cite evidence of this one, do I?
But what U.S. Senator Rand Paul calls courage is really something else…
It’s really more of what former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh says…
Tucker spewed out a torrent of falsehoods and showed the maturity and discernment of a thirteen-year-old. The fact he was seen as a courageous thought leader shows the depths to which this country has descended to in these troubled times.
Tucker wrecked lives.
This is another category that I could spend pages and pages proving. But I’ll just use one example, which involves a long-time conservative and a man who voted twice for former President Donald Trump. (Which I thought was Tucker’s audience?)
Raymond Epps told CBS that Carlson was “obsessed” with him and “going to any means possible to destroy my life.”
Epps was so harassed and focused on by Carlson — the Fox News host mentioned or discussed Epps 20 times in all, and a half dozen times so far this year — that Epps was forced to sell his home and move into an RV.
All because of a non-factual conspiracy theory.
Tucker pushed Russian propaganda.
This is another one that really doesn’t require much evidence, but here’s a good summary:
In fact, Russian state TV is already offering Tucker a job, which isn’t exactly a good look.
Most pundits think Tucker will easily be replaced, but I’m not so sure.
Dan Rather summed up the majority view that I’ve seen and heard across so many channels. The long-time, venerable TV anchor wrote in a post called “Tuckered Out” that the scourge of Carlson will continue unabated.
By any reasonable analysis, Carlson was a particularly noxious figure. That he no longer has a prime-time slot to spew his venom is cause for gratitude. But we should be under no illusions that it means the rot of Fox and right-wing media in general is destined to improve.
Fox exists to make money by following a ruthlessly cynical but efficient business plan: Create a loyal viewership through demonization, divisiveness, and disassembling. Conspiracy theories, exaggeration, scapegoating, and often outright lies are its currency. The financial rewards have been monumental. It is a model that has proven to be much bigger than any single host.
Remember Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly? They once ruled the roost at Fox until their time on the jukebox ran out. They now lob their bombast from the fringes. But Fox grinds forward with unrelenting precision. Sadly, it turns out that loudmouth demagogues are a dime a dozen. A new one will likely rise to replace Carlson just as he once replaced those who faltered before him.
But I don’t agree with this.
Tucker had a populist, libertarian bend that was more Rand Paul than prototypical Republican.
He was more extreme than even Trump, who he secretly hated.
And some Republican strategists think that Tucker Carlson is the greatest threat to Trump in 2024.
In my opinion, Tucker is bigger than whoever might replace him, which means his loss of position at Fox News is a BIG deal for those of us favoring a return to some kind of normalcy in our government.
I will share this as my final piece of evidence that Tucker was one of a kind. Take a look at this video below.
This is some hardcore shock happening here.
If you watch the short clip below (I have it clipped where you only need to watch about 1 min and 40 seconds), you’ll see the look of a man who thought victory was happening and has just been told that enemy troops have captured the baggage wagon and seized the home base to their rear. It is almost pure terror.
What do you think? Am I wrong? Is Tucker easily replaceable?
Let me know in the comments below.
Love and peace,
Stan R. Mitchell
P.S. If you enjoyed this post, I’ll bet you’d love the motivating and inspiring book below about President Obama.
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CLOSING THOUGHT: Do not despair in these coming days. The light of dawn is emerging, and nothing can stop light (or truth).
Too disgusting to watch that too long Bongino video. That ma is out of his mind crazy.